BANGKOK: Thailand's central bank is closely monitoring baht weakness to ensure it will not impact the economy, the finance minister said on Wednesday, as the Thai currency hit its lowest level in nearly 16 years.

The central bank reported that capital movements had largely been normal, minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith told reporters.

The baht was trading at 37.18 per dollar at 0720 GMT, the weakest since December 2006. It has depreciated by 10% against the greenback so far this year.

Arkhom said its weakness had been driven by dollar strength and it should stablise if the U.S. Federal Reserve stopped raising interest rates and brought inflation under control.

The Fed is expected to hike rates again on Wednesday after a two-day meeting.

The finance ministry will meet with the Bank of Thailand (BOT) to address factors weakening the baht and what the impact would be on the economy, he said, adding the meeting date had yet to be set.

"But it (finance ministry) might not be able to determine the direction of exchange rate management much, as the one who is responsible for that is the BOT," Arkhom said.

A weak baht, however, is good for exports and tourism, and the government is helping ease higher energy and goods prices, Arkhom said.

Earlier he said he expected Southeast Asia's second-largest economy to grow 3% to 3.5% this year, boosted by increased exports and a rebound in the vital tourism sector.

 - Reuters